Term Assignment
Stock Market Game
Background
In Canada and the US, about one million students participate in some form of a stock market
game each year. One of the best ways to learn about the stock market is to plan systematically
an investment strategy and execute it in a controlled, competitive learning environment.
Although there are many variations of the basic stock market game, the goal is always to be the
individual who makes the most virtual profit over the course of the competition. Before embarking
on any venture capital undertaking - virtual or real - you need to do a certain amount of homework.
In order to be an informed investor, you have to develop and apply the skills of investors. You
have to be able to:
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interpret stock market quotations and indicators.
research companies to understand their financial story - past, present & future.
read and interpret the business sections of the newspaper and or Internet.
create a stock portfolio that represents your investments progress
Keep in mind that there is always an element of luck involved, especially with a short term
investment. From time to time, stocks selected by chimpanzees or by office workers throwing
darts at a newspaper’s financial pages have outperformed the stocks selected by professional
stockbrokers. Doing your homework does, in fact, improve your chances of finding solid
investment opportunities. This is why, more of than not, the brokers prevail over the chimps !!
Your Investment Mission
For this game (assignment), you will be given $ 100,000.00 to invest on the Toronto Stock
Exchange. You must purchase FIVE stocks. The minimum you can invest in a stock is
$ 1,000.00 and the maximum is $ 30,000.00. Any money left over will be added to you total at
the END of the game. You will record your stock prices every TUESDAY and THURSDAY.
Stock are to be purchased on Toronto Stock Exchange. You may use the newspapers or the
Internet to check your stocks; note - whichever method you use be consistent throughout
the project.
VERY IMPORTANT: This assignment is worth 20% (20 FULL marks) for the year. The
game will take approximately 20 to 24 weeks (5 to 6 months) to complete. Once the data
is gathered for your stocks, you will do some research on the history of the Toronto Stock
Exchange and your top company.
Students will be given opportunity to discuss any questions or problems with their assignment
during the end of each week. Much of this assignment is to be completed OUTSIDE of class,
therefore, students are responsible in keeping your portfolio up to date !! More information will
follow regarding the layout of your portfolio along with a session on how to purchase stocks on the
TSX. The due date for this assignment will follow once the game has begun.